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Phandelver: Goblin Ambush
Read the following boxed text to start the encounter: You've been on the Triboar Trail for about half a day. As you come around a bend, you spot two dead horses sprawled about fifty feet ahead of you, blocking the path. Each has several black-feathered arrows sticking out of it. The woods press close to the trail here, with a steep embankment and dense thickets on either side. If you are using the "Meet Me in Phandalin" adventure hook, then any character who approaches to make a closer investigation can identify the horses as belonging to Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter. They've been dead about a day,and it's clear that arrows killed the horses. When the characters inspect the scene closer, read the following: The saddlebags have been looted. Nearby lies an empty leather map case. Four goblins are hiding in the woods, two on each side of the road. They wait until someone approaches the bodies and then attack. This will likely be the first of many combat encounters in the adventure. Here are the steps you should follow to run it effectively: * Review the goblin stat block in appendix B. Since the goblins are hiding, you'll need to know their Stealth skill modifier: +6. * Check to see who, if anyone, is surprised. The party cannot surprise the goblins, but the goblins might surprise some or all the characters. Make a Dexterity (Stealth) check for the goblins, rolling once for all of them. Roll a d20, add the goblins' Stealth skill modifier (+6) to the roll, and compare the result to the characters' passive Wisdom (Perception) scores. Any character whose score is lower than the goblins' check result is surprised and loses his or her turn during the first round of combat. * When the time comes for the goblins to act, two of them rush forward and make melee attacks while two goblins stand 30 feet away from the party and make ranged attacks. The goblins' stat block contains the information you need to resolve these attacks. * When three goblins are defeated, the last goblin attempts to flee, heading for the goblin trail. DEVELOPMENTS In the unlikely event that the goblins defeat the adventurers, they leave them unconscious, loot them and the wagon, then head back to the Cragmaw hideout. The characters can continue on to Phandalin, buy new gear at Barthen's Provisions, return to the ambush site, and find the goblins' trail. The characters might capture one or more goblins by knocking them unconscious instead of killing them. A character can use any melee weapon to knock a goblin unconscious, succeeding if the attack deals enough damage to drop the goblin to 0 hit points. Once it regains consciousness after a few minutes, a captured goblin can be convinced to share what it knows (see the "What the Goblins Know" sidebar on page 8). A goblin can also be persuaded to lead the party to the Cragmaw hideout while avoiding traps along the way. The characters might not find the goblin trail, or they could decide to continue to Phandalin. In that case, skip ahead to part 2, "Phandalin." Elmar Barthen (the owner of Barthen's Provisions) seeks out the characters and informs them that Gundren Rockseeker never arrived. He recounts the goblin troubles and suggests that the characters return to the ambush site to investigate further (after they rest). Barthen also tells the party that Linene Graywind of the Lionshield Coster can provide more information on the goblin attacks.